LOUDONVILLE, NY – Fresh off their first winning month in seven years, Siena Baseball is off to a 2-0 start to May. Jake Sparks homered in both ends of a doubleheader sweep of Canisius, as the Saints won by scores of 10-8 and 6-5 at Connors Park.
 
Game 1: Siena 10, Canisius 8
Siena (18-26, 14-9) scored what proved to be seven important insurance runs over their final two innings at bat to hold off hard-charging Canisius in the opener, and improve to a perfect 8-0 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series openers.
 
Sparks reached base five times highlighted by a home run, while freshman Josh Thompson added his first collegiate blast – a three-run shot to double the lead to six in the seventh – as the Saints snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Golden Griffins. The victory was the first for Siena over Canisius since an 8-3 triumph on Apr. 14, 2017 in Loudonville.
 
Meanwhile, Alistair Morin went six strong scattering just five hits and one run while walking one and striking out six to secure his staff-leading fifth victory.
 
The Golden Griffins plated a pair in the eighth and mounted a five-run rally in the ninth while bringing the tying run to the plate, but Tyler Sausville locked in for the game-ending strikeout to pick up his third save.
 
The win marked the 100^th career collegiate head coaching victory for second-year skipper Alex Jurczynski, who won 71 games over three seasons at nearby Hudson Valley Community College (2015-17) before taking over the reins of the Saints last spring.
 
Game 2: Siena 6, Canisius 5
Siena rallied with a four-run sixth – highlighted by a two-run homer from Sparks – and Noah Brooks delivered the decisive go-ahead RBI single in the seventh, as the Saints secured their fifth straight MAAC series win, marking the program's longest streak since winning nine straight conference series from April 2016 – April 2017.
 
Aidan Paradine added three more hits to raise his season average to .395 for Siena which recorded its 18^th win, matching the program's highest total since 2019. The Saints also earned their 14th league win, equaling their most since 2021.
 
Siena rallied from a three-run sixth inning deficit thanks in large part to excellent bullpen work from both Noah Wieczorek and Nolan Puglisi. Wieczorek went 3.2 strong allowing just one run to earn his first win of the season, while Puglisi went 1.1 scoreless and hitless to record his first save.
 
The Saints will look to finish off Canisius in the series finale Saturday. First pitch has been moved up to 11 a.m. due to the anticipated inclement weather.